Chapter 1123: The Sinister Dao of Causality
The cultivator shrouded in a black robe radiated an eerie aura, his voice muffled and hard to distinguish. In a hoarse tone, he said:
"A major event is approaching. One must not rashly divine cause and effect."
The Sect Master of the Cangwolf Sect replied solemnly:
"Two elders and six disciples of my Cangwolf Sect have disappeared without reason. It's highly likely they were silenced to cover something up. One of those elders... was my nephew."
"The one who acted in the shadows is clearly powerful, and their methods are anything but ordinary."
"I suspect this person isn't just targeting the Cangwolf Sect—they're targeting me."
"If we don't uncover the truth, the identity of the killer might…"
The Cangwolf Sect Master's eyes darkened slightly.
"…become a great threat."
Though he didn't state it explicitly, the so-called "great threat" was clearly understood by the black-robed cultivator.
His expression turned grave in an instant. After a brief pause, he slowly nodded.
"Very well. Before the grand plan unfolds, we must, of course, proceed with caution. We cannot afford carelessness."
"I will cast a divination."
The black-robed cultivator glanced at the Cangwolf Sect Master and asked, "Do you have any belongings of your nephew?"
The Sect Master had clearly come prepared. He produced a jade pendant and a brocade pouch, which contained a lock of hair, and handed them over.
"Leave a bowl of your blood."
The Sect Master drew a dagger, sliced his palm, and let the blood drip into a bowl until it was full.
With all the materials ready, the black-robed cultivator nodded. "You may step outside for now."
The Cangwolf Sect Master, a burly man who looked like a savage wolf, nodded and obediently stepped outside the hall.
He knew in his heart that "Mister Wu" was about to perform a divination.
This was a secret and extremely advanced cultivation technique.
When performing it, no one was allowed to interfere or even watch—no exceptions, not even for the Sect Master himself.
Once the Sect Master left, Mister Wu pointed to the brazier, and green flames ignited.
In the fire, it was as if vengeful souls writhed, and the mournful howls of demon wolves echoed—harsh and spine-chilling.
Once the fire cooled in temperature, Mister Wu took out a tortoiseshell and tossed it into the green flames.
The fire surged, burning cracks into the tortoiseshell.
Taking the opportunity, Mister Wu threw in the jade pendant and the brocade pouch, incinerating them all. Then he poured the Sect Master's blood into the brazier as well.
The blood, linked by kinship, turned green in the flames and seeped into the tortoiseshell, forming threads of "causality lines" that stretched into the past.
Mister Wu's spirit stirred. He began chanting incantations rapidly. Then, slashing his own palm, he thrust his hand into the flames and grasped the tortoiseshell.
Letting his own blood fuse with the green blood.
In doing so, his divine sense could now follow these lines of causality, allowing him to perceive what had happened—and who the "killer" really was.
Amid the blurry green fire, the face of the youth in wolf robes emerged.
His expression was full of shock and disbelief. It was as if, even at the moment of death, he couldn't believe he was truly dying.
Mister Wu frowned and asked sternly, "Who killed you?"
The youth in wolf robes was engulfed in green flames. He tried to speak but seemed too frightened to do so.
Mister Wu's gaze darkened.
Since he wouldn't answer, then he'd have to see for himself.
He tightened his right hand, letting more blood pour into the tortoiseshell, delving deeper into the layers of causality and rewinding the youth's life, scene by scene, in reverse.
Very soon, he locked onto a figure.
That figure was extremely vague—clad entirely in ash-black, with traces of firelight flickering about—strange and unsettling.
Mister Wu furrowed his brow, and for the first time, unease crept into his heart.
Had he… perhaps crossed a line?
Had he divined something—or someone—that should not be seen?
The urge to retreat surged within him.
But it was already too late.
He had already seen that bizarre silhouette.
And he had already touched the web of causality surrounding the one behind it all.
In an instant, thick mist surged.
Mister Wu felt as if he were standing deep within a foggy mountain range—surrounded by a blinding white mist, unable to see even five fingers in front of him.
"This is… the Heavenly Secrets Fog?" Mister Wu's heart trembled. He scanned the surroundings in disbelief:
"Such a powerful Heavenly Secrets Fog… How could it be this dense?"
"Whose handiwork… could this possibly be?"
Mister Wu was deeply shaken.
He tried to walk through the mist, but no matter how far he went, he couldn't discern any direction.
The scope, the density, the depth, and the mysterious laws contained within this fog of secrets far surpassed his expectations.
The more he saw, the more terrified he felt.
He was certain—this fog must be concealing some immense and precious cause-and-effect.
Otherwise, no great cultivator would go to such lengths to obscure it with such an unfathomable fog.
This was the work of someone with mastery over heavenly secrets!
His expression turned increasingly grave as he wandered like a headless fly through the fog.
But this mist was not something he could penetrate.
By the time the green fire was nearly extinguished and the tortoiseshell's divination was ending, Mister Wu had gained nothing. He could only frown and withdraw from this web of causality.
Back in the real world—
The demonic fire in the brazier had died out, and the tortoiseshell was full of cracks.
Mister Wu sat blankly, dazed. After who knows how long, he finally spoke: "Come in."
The Cangwolf Sect Master walked in. "Mister Wu, how did it go?"
Mister Wu shook his head. "It was all fog. I couldn't glimpse the cause, couldn't determine the reason for death, nor the identity of the killer."
The Cangwolf Sect Master frowned. He clearly hadn't expected that even the highly skilled Mister Wu would be unable to divine the killer's identity.
"Then… what should we do?" he asked.
Mister Wu replied calmly, "It's fine. The Dao of Causality has always been obscure and complex. It's normal to gain nothing from a single attempt."
"Allow me to consult the ancient texts of my clan. I will search for a method to pierce through the fog and uncover the truth. In time, the truth will surface."
The Cangwolf Sect Master cupped his fists. "Then I'll be relying on Mister Wu."
Mister Wu nodded. "I am weary."
Understanding the cue, the Cangwolf Sect Master rose and said, "I shall not disturb your rest." With that, he quietly withdrew.
Mister Wu closed his eyes to rest. After recovering some of his spiritual sense, he took out a few old, yellowed scrolls from his wolfskin storage pouch and began reading intently…
He needed to find a way to break through that fog.
…
At the same time, inside the guest room.
Mo Hua also wore a strange expression.
"Just now… was someone trying to divine me?"
"Who?"
This was the first time he had ever clearly felt someone attempting to calculate his "karmic fate."
He was certain others had tried before.
That much, Mo Hua understood well.
As Mr. Zhuang's personal disciple with a special status, and given the chaos he had stirred up across the Qianxue Prefecture—countless events involving him—there were definitely people in the shadows trying to deduce his karma.
But until now, Mo Hua hadn't felt it so obviously.
For one, he had been very well protected.
Old Master Xun valued him greatly—even giving him the Great Void Duality Lock.
And though Mr. Zhuang's lifeforce was nearly extinguished, the fog he had left behind still lingered in Mo Hua's karmic threads, shielding him from prying eyes.
The fog in Mo Hua's fate had condensed like a thick mist in the depths of the Great Black Mountain—forming an extremely powerful heavenly barrier that hid all deadly misfortunes deep within.
Ordinary fate-cultivating cultivators couldn't penetrate it at all.
Secondly, back in Qianxue Prefecture, those trying to deduce Mo Hua's karma were mostly late-Stage Golden Core, Ascension, or even Hollow Void experts.
That was a group of many powerful people working together to divine him.
Their cultivation was too high, and their methods too subtle.
So even if they tried to divine him, Mo Hua never sensed anything.
But now, things were different.
He had left Qianxue Prefecture and its chaos behind—his karmic field much quieter now.
And ever since the Slaughter Qi entered his body, his fate had grown increasingly sensitive—his karmic senses more refined.
Just now, he had clearly and undeniably felt someone trying to divine his karma.
That person's cultivation wasn't much higher than his own.
Though their karmic technique wasn't bad, it was clearly unrefined.
Obviously a rookie.
And they weren't even very far away.
In his previously calm fate, a single person—a karmic "rookie"—attempting to divine him from nearby? Hard not to notice.
"No wonder Old Master Xun warned me never to casually divine other people's karma…" Mo Hua murmured.
When you peer into karma, karma peers back at you.
If your divine sense or karmic skill is weaker than the other party's, attempting to divine them is like serving yourself up on a platter—you'll only end up dead.
"Karma really is dangerous…"
Mo Hua sighed inwardly. Little did he realize, he was the most dangerous karma of all.
Then he grew a little confused.
Now that he could sense someone trying to divine him through karma…
So what? What could he do about it?
Mo Hua frowned, pondering deeply, then suddenly realized—he couldn't do anything.
So far, all his "defenses" against karma had been passive.
Old Master Xun. His master. They had arranged it all for him.
And as for what lurked within his fate… there were more dangerous things hidden inside.
But those were things he couldn't control. In fact, not only were they beyond his control—they might be serious hidden dangers.
Even those defensive mechanisms were passive.
That gave Mo Hua a deep sense of insecurity.
He couldn't just rely on others to protect his fate.
He needed the ability to defend it himself—to reshape, or even defy fate.
"My destiny must be in my own hands. My fate must be under my own control…"
But how?
Without relying on his master, or Old Master Xun, or those "hidden dangers"—how could he, by his own strength, counter someone else's karmic divination?
Mo Hua felt a bit stuck.
His divine sense was powerful. He possessed two top-tier karmic deduction methods. His karmic foundation…
…was terrifyingly deep.
But unfortunately, he lacked the most basic knowledge of karma cultivation.
His foundation was strong, but his fundamentals were weak.
To the point where—besides advanced deduction and tricky fortune-twisting—he knew next to nothing about basic karmic techniques or balancing countermeasures.
Back in Qianxue Prefecture, Mo Hua had once tried to subtly consult Daoist Master Situ, hoping to learn some karmic arts.
Daoist Master Situ came from the Valley of Mysteries.
The Valley of Mysteries based their entire legacy on "karma."
But Daoist Master Situ had hesitated, clearly reluctant.
First, because of strict sect rules—those karmic arts were exclusive to the Valley and not to be taught to outsiders.
Second, he genuinely didn't dare to teach Mo Hua.
The karma tied to Mo Hua was far too massive.
If Mo Hua learned the Valley's karmic arts, the "karmic bond" would become too deeply entangled.
And given that Mo Hua's fate contained monstrous Slaughter Qi, held together by a fragile equilibrium, if that fate were to shift—if Mo Hua ever fell and became a great demonic threat—the Valley would be seen as having aided and abetted a catastrophe.
Because of all this, Daoist Master Situ simply didn't dare to teach Mo Hua anything.
Mo Hua had no choice.
He understood Situ's concerns.
But precisely because he lacked karmic countermeasures, when someone just now tried to divine his fate, he could only sit and watch—helpless.
He realized this couldn't go on.
He had immense divine power—but no way to use it.
Mo Hua hated this feeling.
"Rely on myself to counter karma…?"
"How?"
Lying on the bed, staring at the ceiling, Mo Hua ran through every experience and insight he'd ever had in cultivation, searching his memory—was there anyone's method he could directly "borrow"?
First, his master's method was unusable.
Because he'd never actually seen how his master performed karmic divination or operated the Dao of fate.
That left only one other option he could "copy"—
His martial uncle…
Other than his master, the only one left he could "copy"… was his martial uncle.
"Martial Uncle is terrifying. His terror lies in the fact that ordinary cultivators don't even dare to speak his name."
"He must not be spoken of, not be seen, not even be thought of—otherwise, some karmic thread might be triggered, drawing down his sinister will… and you'd end up in a fate worse than death."
This karmic ability surely had many limitations—like time, space, cultivation level, divine sense strength, and more.
Mo Hua didn't understand it clearly yet, but this path of "sinister will descent" seemed like something he might be able to "copy."
After all, his martial uncle's divine sense was strong, and so was his own.
His martial uncle cultivated peerless karmic trickery, and Mo Hua just so happened to have studied a little karmic trickery too.
Their foundations and frameworks were the same.
Martial Uncle was a master among masters.
So even if he couldn't become a master among masters, if he studied him—Mo Hua should at least be able to become…
…a typical "master."
Mo Hua pondered silently:
"Martial Uncle's karmic trickery is much more profound and incomparably brilliant. He can divide sinister thoughts and transform divine sense into thousands of manifestations, right?"
"That… I can't do. I can only create a 'shadow of sinister thought.' But that shadow, overlaid on my divine sense, only amplifies my deduction ability—it can't fully separate."
"If I can't separate it… then I can't generate an independent 'sinister thought incarnation' to descend through karma…"
"Then this still won't work…"
Mo Hua frowned deeply, lost in thought—then suddenly shook his head.
"No… that's not right. My line of thinking is wrong…"
"Martial Uncle is too powerful. There's no way I can be as terrifying as him—have someone merely think my name, and I descend with divine will, my divine sense manifesting upon them…"
"Besides, there's no need for me to create a 'sinister incarnation' right now."
"That's an advanced karmic trickery method—it's far too difficult…"
"What I need to do now is just a basic karmic countermeasure—to use my own ability to defend my fate, so others won't dare easily 'calculate' me."
"Or at the very least, if someone does try to calculate me, I'll sense it—and reverse it to 'screw them over' instead…"
"How to reverse it? Divine sense sword?"
Mo Hua considered this, then shook his head.
The divine sense sword is a power that operates in realms like the sea of consciousness and nightmares.
But karmic fate is another whole system of Dao laws entirely.
Mo Hua hadn't delved deeply into it yet, and couldn't explain clearly—he just felt it was a system where subjective and objective intertwined, divine sense and matter coexisted, illusion and reality were connected, and vow power fused with karmic force.
It was related to divine sense, but not exactly the same.
"Pure divine sense killing techniques won't work right now… then what about Martial Uncle's 'Planting Demon in the Dao Heart'?"
Mo Hua followed that line of thought and continued thinking:
"The principle of 'Planting Demon in the Dao Heart' is to divide out a 'demonic seed' and plant it in the Dao Heart."
"In reality, it requires speech as the 'bridge' to transmit the demonic seed into someone's heart, where it takes root, grows, and influences their mind."
"But in karmic fate?"
"I can't speak to the 'invader.' I can't directly use speech as a bridge—and without speech, I can't plant the 'demonic seed'…"
Mo Hua furrowed his brow in frustration, unable to resolve it. So he could only put himself in Martial Uncle's shoes and imagine—what would that terrifying man do in this situation?
After a long time, Mo Hua's heart stirred, and two words floated to the surface of his mind:
"Slaughter Qi."
He had a strong intuition—if Martial Uncle were him, in this exact predicament, he would definitely find a way to refine the overwhelming blood karma into Slaughter Qi, and use that as the medium to craft a demonic seed.
It was a strange kind of unspoken understanding between martial uncle and martial nephew.
After all, in Mo Hua's fate, the karma tied to the Corpse King and the Evil Fetus was utterly uncontrollable—even he himself wasn't fully aware of it.
Elder Xun, Mr. Zhuang, and the Great Void Duality Lock's merging mist—Mo Hua couldn't see through any of them.
Calculating it all, the only thing he might be able to control… was the Slaughter Qi born from the blood debts he had personally incurred.
That was the only cultivational power in his fate that he might be able to wield.
"To combine Slaughter Qi with karmic trickery, use 'Planting Demon in the Dao Heart' as the form, and refine it into a unique karmic trickery technique—just to counter those trying to divine my fate?"
Mo Hua's eyes gradually lit up.
He couldn't wait to try and began cultivating step by step:
"First, use karmic trickery to divide out a strand of sinister thought…"
"Then use 'Planting Demon in the Dao Heart' to transform this sinister thought into a 'demonic seed'…"
"Then, fuse this demonic seed with the Slaughter Qi in my fate…"
"After the fusion… use 'Slaughter Conversion through Demonic Arts'? No—that works on external forces. I should use the Blood Prison Eye to stir the Slaughter Qi, then let it backlash…"
"Since I'm using only a small amount of Slaughter Qi, the backlash stays within tolerable limits."
"Once it backlashes, it will naturally flow in reverse, returning into my fate."
"In this way, the Slaughter Qi becomes a 'bridge,' carrying the sinister thought demonic seed I refined back into my fate."
"Anyone who tries to divine my fate—so long as they come into contact with this Slaughter Qi—will fall under my 'Planted Demon'…"
This whole process sounded simple, but in truth, the number of divine sense techniques involved was vast, deep, and complicated.
Karmic trickery, Planting Demon in the Dao Heart, the divine-sense Dao transformation of the Heavenly Evolution Art, mental manipulation, the Slaughter Qi within fate, and two kinds of Slaughter Conversion techniques…
To pull this off, Mo Hua had to deeply understand every single technique, break them down completely, and piece them back together according to his own design.
Even for Mo Hua, putting this into practice was incredibly difficult.
He dropped everything else and spent a full three days and nights experimenting before he finally succeeded in refining a single sinister-thought "demonic seed" as he envisioned.
Mo Hua let out a long breath and began to feel anticipation rising.
Then he lay down on his bed, closed his eyes, and rested—quietly waiting for someone to try "calculating" him again.
Sure enough, that night—once darkness fell and midnight passed—
There was once again a disturbance in his fate. Someone was clearly using a secret technique to peer into his karma.
Based on his guess, the one spying on his karmic fate was probably from the Blue Wolf Sect.
Most likely, it was the sect master of the Blue Wolf Sect, seeking the cause of death for the Wolf-Robed Youth.
And the shadowy figure doing the actual calculation was probably the sect master's hidden "adviser."
As planned, Mo Hua activated the Blood Prison Eye to stir the Slaughter Qi, triggered its backlash, and merged a wisp of sinister thought into it.
Within that sinister thought was planted the intent of a Dao Heart Demon Seed:
"I'm a useless piece of trash… Might as well just die…"
(End of this Chapter)